The present invention relates to a buffering device in an automatic cloth feeder in which cloth is introduced to a feeding conveyor at a substantially central portion in a carrying direction, right and left trailing end portions thereof are detected by crumpling the cloth from the right and left, and the right and left trailing end portions are held by a deposition section.
As linen products handled in the so-called linen supply industry, there are bed sheets, bed covers, large and small towels, other various types of cloth, and clothing such as gowns. The cloth collected from a customer is repeatedly subjected to a process of washing, ironing, and folding, before being delivered to the customer. The cloth is fed into the process by a feeder. However, in an automated feeding process, when the cloth is placed on a feeding conveyor, a particular portion is held by a member on the feeder side while being carried, and then, the cloth is automatically spread. The spread cloth is fed onto a carrying conveyor from leading end portions. Accordingly, the cloth can be carried into the ironing process in a spread state, for example.
An automatic feeding method is divided into two main types of methods. One is a method in which one end or both ends of cloth are searched for so as to be fed, and the other one is a method in which both ends of cloth are automatically searched for and are automatically spread when a side of the cloth is fed onto the carrying conveyor. Presently, the main stream is the former method because the latter method has low stability and quality. However, according to the studies carried out by the inventor, it is difficult to say that the former method is absolutely advantageous. The latter method rather has room for improvement, achieving a prospect of being superior to the former method when improved. As the latter method, there is the invention disclosed in JP-A-10-5500.
As the automatic feeding method is employed, working efficiency per worker is improved, and production volume per feeding station is increased. Thus, by adopting the two-station feeding process, it is possible to exhibit the maximum capacity of a straightening unit for straightening cloth. Meanwhile, balance cannot be maintained with respect to a supply amount from the feeding station, and a delay of feeding has become a problem. It is preferable to be able to increase the number of cloth pieces which can be accumulated from the feeding station to the straightening unit, but there is no room for an increase in the existing device. The delay of feeding leads directly to a problem of reduced production volume. When a delay occurs once, it is extremely difficult to recover after the delay.